Monday, June 14, 2010

This red curry flank steak recipe represents a departure from my usual game plan regarding marinating meat for the grill.

I normally don't try to make the meat taste like something specific, rather just use whatever vinegar is nearby, some garlic, herbs, and whatever spices strike my fancy at that moment.

This time I actually had an idea. I love Thai food, and in particular red curry beef. If you've never had this amazing dish, it's basically chunks of beef stew meat cooked slowly in a spicy, aromatic red curry sauce until fork tender. It's clearly one of the top 50 recipes in the history of the world.So, inspired by this classic Thai recipe, I decided to see if the same sort of flavors could be turned into some sort of marinade for flank steak. I'm so glad I did. The results knocked my socks off.

I made a point to use only ingredients found in your typical higher-end grocery store (like Whole Foods). I really hope you make the effort to find these items, since there really aren’t suitable substitutions.One note about doneness – as I mention in the video, I like to cook the flank steak to about 132 on the grill which goes up another 5 or so degrees while it rests. This will give you something between medium rare and medium. Rare flank steak is very chewy, and I believe cooking it closer to medium gives a much better texture to the meat.Having said that, it may look like the meat is a little rarer than that in the video. That's because I started cutting from the thick end, which is going to be rarer – but as you slice towards the thinner end, it will turn medium, and you'll even get a few slice of medium well towards the end.

For this reason flank steak is a perfect choice for a group, since the same piece of meat will provide a range of different doneness'. So, go find those not-so-exotic Asian ingredients and give this delicious beef flank steak recipe a try. Enjoy!

OMG, this was delicious. We nearly wept. I minced up a couple leaves of basil and tossed it right in the marinade.

Our flank steak was very lean, so I'll share my secret for barbecuing low fat meats: place a strip of raw bacon on the back of the grill. As if cooks it will create billows of smoke that flavor the meat. Works great with skinless chicken breasts, fish and lean beef.

Cutting along the grain will result in a tough product. Flank steak is from a more exercised body part of the cattle, so the muscle grain is very tough to chew unless it's cut fine or be cooked for an extended time. Your guests probably will not like a super chewy steak.

Chef John! This recipe is awesome! I used your marinade for my theme meal project and a lot of people liked it! The curry flavor is not overwhelming, but it's there. I also added a Thai coconut-curry sauce, kinda like the original Thai beef/chicken curry sauce, which works exceptionally well with the steak.

It's been 3 years since you posted this recipe. I made it last night for 4th of July dinner. The family was blown away. Everyone agreed, "I'd rather have this than a filet mignon anytime." Back to grocery store for an encore performance today.